


Inevitability

by midi



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Danny Needs a Hug, Gen, I'll add tags as they become relevant, That and probably therapy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-26
Updated: 2017-01-26
Packaged: 2018-09-18 23:12:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9407096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/midi/pseuds/midi
Summary: He'd always known it was coming. But now, it had happened. And there was no going back.





	

**Author's Note:**

> okay wow, i haven't written anything resembling a story in three years! so on that note, constructive criticism is very much appreciated!

He'd blacked out, most likely from ectoplasm-loss. He'd been too caught up in his third "deathday" to realize that his parents were behind him, armed and ready. Though considering the lack of blood melted into the ectoplasm stains, he assumed that somehow, he'd managed to stay ghost even when unconscious? It was strange, but he wasn't going to complain about not being exposed. And on the topic of not being exposed, gaping chest wounds would be a dead giveaway. He snickered momentarily at his own terrible pun, before finally standing (floating?) up. He expected his torso to still be bleeding - but he couldn't feel anything dripping down. He looked down, and the holes through his chest had vanished. He felt a sinking feeling in his core. Sure, he healed inhumanly quickly. But damage like that always took at least a day or two. Certainly not the few hours he'd been out for. Something felt wrong, and it wasn't just how lightheaded he was.

Maybe he'd been knocked out for longer than he'd thought? He didn't have his watch with him, but it was nearly sunset. He remembered how the summer heat had been while he was out earlier - eleven in the morning at the earliest, three in the afternoon as the latest. Just as he thought. There was no way he healed that fast, unless he'd been out for over twenty-four hours. But someone surely would've noticed by now, right? That or he would've reverted to his human form. And speaking (or rather thinking) of his human form, his parents were probably wondering were Danny Fenton was. He could mull over his weird-ass halfa metabolisms later. _Maybe I can see if Jazz knows anything_ , he wondered to himself. Mom and Dad had surely gloated over their "defeat" of the ghost-boy. And considering how long they could blather on, they'd probably let something slip. At least he knew for sure where he was. He had fought ghosts in this alley before. It was about a twenty minute walk from home. Luckily, ghosts didn't need to walk to get to places. It'd take a little longer than usual since he was still weak from the earlier ambush, but it beat walking.

After flying around for five or ten minutes, he reached home. It was pretty hard to miss, considering the huge blinking FENTONWORKS sign attached to the roof. On a side note, that thing was really embarrassing. He landed softly behind his house, so no one would see him transforming. He'd already made this mistake before with Jazz, and even though he trusted her, he certainly didn't trust random townsfolk with his life's secret. After checking around to make sure he was alone, he muttered to himself. "Going human..." He tugged at his core, searching for the pulsing human warmth that had always been there. But nothing happened. The halfa furrowed his brows. "I said, going human." He repeated himself, although slightly agitated this round. He tugged harder at his core. It was freezing. Yes, he had an ice core, but his living "warmth" was always prominent. And his core had never been this cold, not even with Frostbite. He tried one more time, not even bothering to say something. C'mon, third time's the charm, right? He crossed his fingers. Apparently, bad things also came in threes, because he was still Phantom.

 _Calm down_ , he reminded himself. He could handle this. He just needed to stay invisible, go upstairs, and talk to Jazz. He'd call Sam or Tucker, but if his parents heard him on the phone without ever seeing him come in, his secret was good as gone. Danny let the familiar feeling of emptiness wash over him as he phased through the door. Surprisingly, his parents weren't there. Jazz was presumably upstairs, which was great because he could talk to her without waiting. He drifted up the staircase and to Jazz's door. When he tried to open it, the knob didn't move. He briefly wondered why her door was locked before knocking softly.

"Go away," she mumbled. She didn't sound like she was doing too well. Yikes. Danny decided to just cut to the chase and phase through her door. His sister was curled up on her bed, with her face buried in her knees. She almost sounded like she was...crying? Had something happened?

"Jazz, are you alright?" At the sound of his voice, she flinched. She lifted her head up, and some kind of expression washed over her face. Tasted like relief, fear, and misery all at the same time. Feareliefery, he decided to call it. Wait, since when did he taste emotions? No matter. "What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost." Danny couldn't help but shoot a pair of finger guns her way. Her feareliefery intensified, and he could also taste a trace of shock now.

"Danny, you're...you're......." She trailed off, staring out her window.

"What? I'm what?" Something was definitely wrong.

"You're...here. How are you here?!" She clasped her fingers on her head, distressed.

"Magic." Danny threw up jazz hands, in a futile attempt to make a joke. _Can it Fenton, you're not helping_ , he scolded himself. Jazz seemed more unsettled, if anything. "But in all seriousness, is something wrong? 'Cause I've kinda got a problem right now." He grumbled a bit, and his ghostly tail flicked back and forth like a snake's. Jazz didn't say anything. "So, Mom and Dad snuck up on me. They got a few rounds in me, too. I think something they used shorted out my powers, 'cus I can't go human. Did they mention anything about that?" He asked, tail still softly slapping the carpet. Jazz seemed even more shook up.

"Danny, you..." Jazz uncurled herself from the bed, sitting up and looking at him. Her eyes were teary - it was clear that she'd been crying. And Jazz rarely cried. She breathed in, in an attempt to regain her composure. Danny's head cocked to the side, a frown plastered on his face.

"I what, Jazz? What's going on?" His sister paused for a moment. 

"You shouldn't be here!" She was dancing around the ghostly elephant in the room. "Mom and Dad caught you, okay?! I tried to stop them but I promised you I'd never tell and I couldn't break that! I called Sam and Tucker and they came over but Mom and Dad wouldn't listen to them either. We couldn't bring ourselves to tell them, a-and now..." He didn't like where this was going. And neither did the tears streaming down his sister's face. "They said they were protecting the town, f-from you. That we'd thank them later, even if we didn't understand then." It was clear that she was having difficulty talking.

"We checked it out when they went to bed. You were a mess...if we hadn't known, we would've never thought it was you. They tore you apart, Danny. You'd gone human after they went to sleep. Sam even tried to find a pulse, but..." Her silence said more than words could. "W-we put the body in the ghost zone, so Mom and Dad wouldn't find out. They've been searching for you all day...I didn't have the heart to tell them." Jazz looked away, not wanting to see her brother's reaction to what she'd told him.

As for Danny, it was like waking up and realizing everything that had happened was just a dream. He remembered it all, and it hurt. He winced at a wound that wasn't even there anymore. Rage, grief, despair, fear - all at once. His green eyes crackled with ectoplasmic electricity, and Jazz scooted further from him. Instinct filled him, and left even faster. His hands were burning with green, and Jazz reeked of fear. He let them fizzle out, but the damage had been done. Reality crashed, and he let himself phase through the floor. 

Had he stayed a few seconds longer, he would've heard Jazz sobbing for him.


End file.
